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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

For the life of me I don’t get all the hate and bile directed towards Derrick Mason from Baltimore Ravens fans. All Mason did during his 6 seasons in Baltimore was to give all that he had. Sure he yapped when things weren’t going well offensively and ok, I get that the needle leaned towards the selfish side but from his arrival in B’more to his departure, no one was a more consistent or more reliable starter than Derrick Mason.

No one!

Mason never missed a game as a Raven, playing in 96 consecutive regular season games and 8 playoff games. He is the franchise’s all-time leading receiver in receptions (471) and yards (5,777). He was also a leader on offense, a role normally reserved for the quarterback but given the temperament of the men behind center the Ravens have employed, Mason seemed more like the offensive alpha male than anyone else.

He played fearlessly, practiced hard and always respected the game.

If the Ravens had 53 Derrick Masons during his 6 season here, there would be another Lombardi Trophy in the Ravens’ trophy case at The Castle.

From what Webb and Cary said when they played the Jets, he was in fact saying things that they couldn't even repeat on the air ways. People were more then likely booing him because of that. He's gonna be sore over the fact he was let go from the Ravens so he's gonna run his mouth.

I too didn't want to hear the booing. But I can understand it a little. A couple reasons.

Despite all the effort and heart and production he showed, there was some negative baggage. Back when he was having some personal issues, there was the feeling that maybe he did not want to be here...that he'd rather get picked up elsewhere. So even though it was the Ravens who let him go, it wasn't quite as straight forward as that.

The fact that his heart was in Nashville wasn't a plus for provincial Baltimore.

Then there was the incident yanking Flacco's facemask. It fueled an impression among some that he was a little selfish about getting the ball and held Flacco back from being able to utilize the whole field. Fairly or not, it made him seem like a locker room lawyer.

In the end, he'll be a ring of honor guy so best to embrace him, warts and all.